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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26582107">Victory Never Tasted So Sweet</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/SomeSleepySloth/pseuds/SomeSleepySloth'>SomeSleepySloth</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Mini-Soulmates [4]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Shadowhunters (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Domestic Fluff, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, M/M, Mini-Soulmates, Tooth-Rotting Fluff</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 12:21:13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,477</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26582107</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/SomeSleepySloth/pseuds/SomeSleepySloth</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Both Alec and mini-Alec love Magnus. It all sounds brilliant in theory, but what about in practice?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Mini-Soulmates [4]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1916764</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>182</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Mini soulmates</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Victory Never Tasted So Sweet</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lalelilolu/gifts">Lalelilolu</a>.</li>



    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Prompt: DISTRACT ME FROM STUDYING PLEASE BY WRITING ALEC POUTING ABOUT NOT BEING ALLOWED TO DO THE NAIL POLISH.</p><p>Prompted by <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lalelilolu/pseuds/Lalelilolu"> my mom </a>, and I duly obliged.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“You have to stop this.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Blink</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No seriously, you can’t do this anymore.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Blink blink</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I know you understand me, mister. No more, you hear me? I’m serious.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Blink. Blink. Blink. Stomp.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“HEY YOU TINY RAPSCALLION. COME BACK. I am not done talking,” Alec hollers. But the tiny retreating back just gets smaller and smaller, before eventually disappearing out of sight. The audacity indeed, Alec curses his misfortune as he huffs and bangs his head against the dining table.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Times like these, Alec wonders how mini-Alec could possibly be a miniature version of him. He is a good Shadowhunter, an excellent Head of The New York Institute, as certified by Izzy. Although the bar is rather low considering the last Acting Head was Aldertree, but Alec will take the compliment either way, please and thank you. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The point is, Alec is an amazing person, and he has no idea what grievous crime he has committed to be saddled with </span>
  <em>
    <span>this</span>
  </em>
  <span> mini-soulmate. All he wanted was to be the best boyfriend to Magnus. When he first heard about the warlock’s trail of broken hearts, which if compiled into a list could probably be the length of the marathon, Alec vowed to work hard and show Magnus that Alexander Gideon Lightwood is whom Magnus should be with. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He is well-aware of how attractive Magnus is; he has seen the number of people who hit on him at Pandemonium. Each of them slinking away when Magnus politely informs them that, </span>
  <em>
    <span>no, sorry, he is taken and has a boyfriend. </span>
  </em>
  <span>And sometimes there are those who persist, resulting in Magnus bringing out the big guns. Or rather, tiny guns.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Alec isn’t a massive fan of clubs, the notion of being in a pile of gyrating sweaty people doesn’t appeal to him. But Magnus likes it, so Alec being the dutiful boyfriend occasionally tags along, but opting to spend most of his time at the VIP lounge above, taking in the sight of Magnus out on the dance floor, dancing as if he owned the place figuratively. Since he literally owns the place already.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When Magnus has to beat away the limpets who refuse to take no for an answer, he simply taps on the pocket of his jacket. Mini-Alec will poke his head out, glaring at the idiots who dared to flirt with Magnus when he already had a wonderful soulmate. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>On one memorable occasion, mini-Alec had smuggled his miniature bow out with him, and sent an arrow flying straight into the gob of a vampire who simply couldn’t take a hint. The conniving bugger had also apparently asked mini-Magnus to enhance the arrows with his own brand of warlock magic, which tended to be a bit more ostentatious than Magnus’. It had certainly been a sight to see red sparks fly out of the vampire’s mouth whenever he tried to speak. Mini-Alec had pouted when Magnus had hastily cancelled the spell. But Alec made sure that both mini-Alec and mini-Magnus were well-compensated for their efforts.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Alec is inwardly ecstatic that his possessive streak runs strong in mini-Alec as well, because that means Alec can count on his mini-me to chase these competitors for Magnus’ affections away. But he never saw this coming, he never thought it’d happen. Alas, it did; mini-Magnus had gotten rid of most of the rivals, but he couldn’t do a single thing about the </span>
  <em>
    <span>biggest</span>
  </em>
  <span> rival, because it was himself.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It sounds bizarre, but Alec knows it’s true, mini-Alec is his closest competitor for Magnus’ attention. And it all started on one evening, a month ago. Magnus had collapsed onto the couch the minute he stepped through the portal; he had assured Alec that he was fine, it had just been a long day dealing with client after client. But apart from physical exhaustion, it became clear the next day that Magnus’ had exhausted his magical core as well, resulting in a fever.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Alec had fretted over his boyfriend all morning, the mini-mes hovering close as well, stroking Magnus’ hair as he slept fitfully, body convulsing with chills. Thankfully, his fever broke in the afternoon, and all three of them breathed a sigh of relief as the frown on Magnus’ face eased into a serene smile. Thank the angels that Magnus is fine, Alec thought to himself, as he relaxed his tight grip of Magnus’ hand.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The warlock’s palm was slightly clammy, but Alec refused to let go, he wanted to hold Magnus’ hand. And a hopeful voice in his head whispered softly </span>
  <em>
    <span>forever</span>
  </em>
  <span>. As he gazed down at Magnus’ hand, trailing his finger across the back, up to his elegant and bony fingers, he allowed himself to wonder for the first time what Magnus’ ring finger would look like with a new ring on it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Magnus’ fingers were always adorned with rings, sometimes they are thin bands, other times they are signet rings that he has accumulated over the years. His collection of rings is massive enough that Alec has never seen Magnus wear the same ring twice. But maybe, this new ring would never leave his finger, this ring wouldn’t be part of the rotation, it would be different. It would remain firmly on Magnus’ ring finger. Alec curled his finger around his boyfriend’s ring finger, imagining the Lightwood family ring taking its place on his ring finger when he sees it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>While the day before had been exhausting for Magnus, Alec had an inkling that it was merely the straw that broke the camel’s back as the warlock had been running himself ragged for the week before that. The chipped nail polish is evidence of that, for a man who is fastidious about his own appearance.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The nail polish shelf on the dresser caught Alec’s eye, and it hit him, he could help paint Magnus’ nails. He had seen Izzy do it often enough, and had even helped her with it. He was certain that he would do an excellent job, and so he climbed out of bed to retrieve a bottle of nail polish.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Placing Magnus’ limp hand in his lap, Alec unscrewed the nail polish bottle cap, getting ready to lift the brush up, when it was knocked out of his hands. </span>
  <em>
    <span>What the -</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He glanced back at Magnus, and no, his boyfriend is still fast asleep; he shrugged and picked up the bottle again, maybe it was just a particularly strong gust of wind. But the bottle got knocked out of his hands again. This time, he spotted the culprit - mini-Alec. His mini-me is scowling fiercely at Alec, his tiny arms crossed in displeasure. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And Alec had no idea what was wrong with him, had Alec chosen the wrong nail polish colour? But that couldn’t be it, he had seen this shade of blue on Magnus’ hands before. Right then, mini-Alec darted forward, and grabbed the nail polish bottle, lugging it to the other side of Magnus.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The tiny archer had looked Alec straight in the eye as he slowly withdrew the nail polish brush, and as the brush inches closer and closer to Magnus’ nail plate, mini-Alec maintains that eye contact. Alec’s jaw dropped in shock. Was his mini-me actually competing with Alec over who would get to paint Magnus’ nails?! What the fuck. Alec was baffled by this all. But he refused to give up, nope, his mother didn’t raise a quitter. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Glaring equally fiercely back at mini-Alec, he made an attempt to grab the bottle back, only for the tiny bugger to duck out of the way, waving the brush meanincingly in Alec’s direction. OH. It was on, Alec lunged forward to get his hands on the mini devil who squirmed out of his hands, and in the ensuing mêlée, the bottle got tipped over, sending navy blue nail polish spilling all over the silk sheets. And as if that was not bad enough, all the movement on the bed had woken Magnus up as well. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Fuck.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Vat’s happenin” Magnus mumbled as he rubbed at his bleary eyes, still half asleep.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh nothing Magnus, everything’s fine,” Alec soothed, “go back to sleep.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Thankfully the warlock didn’t question Alec further and snuggled back into his pillow. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Crisis averted</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Or so Alec thought. Because there was a sharp jab in his rib-cage, he looked down and noticed mini-Alec standing in front of him, arms akimbo with a challenging glint in his eye. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He snorted at that ridiculous sight, there was no way mini-Alec could take him down. Alec was going to paint Magnus’ nails, and mini-Alec can very well suck it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>~~~</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Now a fortnight later, Alec curses his initial optimism. He sends a silent prayer to the Angels above that at least none of his siblings have been dragged into this squabble yet, because he is certain he would get ribbed mercilessly if they ever caught wind of it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He had been so confident of his own victory, but mini-Alec turned out to be a worthy adversary. Over the past fortnight, the tussles had escalated rapidly, with sharp flicks and jabs aimed at each other, both taking care to engage in them out of Magnus’ sight. Mini-Alec had even taken to abandoning his nesting spot on Magnus’ shoulder. He now patrolled the dresser, walking in front of the nail polish shelf, armed with his trusty bow. It culminated in mini-Alec painting the words </span>
  <em>
    <span>DIBS</span>
  </em>
  <span> on Alec’s hand with nail polish, while he was napping on the couch.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Fighting hadn’t worked. And neither had threats. So Alec decided to try a different tactic - talking. They both loved Magnus, they could have a good chat about it. Maybe they could even work out a schedule as to who painted Magnus’ nails.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>So Alec had gone to fetch mini-Alec from his post by the nail polish shelf and sat him down at the dining table for a friendly chat. Except that twerp was more stubborn and obstinate than he thought. And now here he is, banging his head against the table.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>~~~</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Alexander darling, what is with this racket?” Magnus drawls out as he strolls from his potions room into the living room. “Why are you hitting your head on the table?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There is no way that Alec is admitting to Magnus that he is currently rowing with his mini-me over who gets to paint Magnus’ fingers. Nope. Never in a million years. But he does cease the head banging because he feels a bruise starting to form on his forehead, before the pain disappears.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Alec looks up and sends Magnus a grateful smile. Perks of a warlock boyfriend indeed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So, what’s causing you all this pain? Is there someone I need to talk to?” Magnus asks, placing emphasis on the world talk, as he sends a wisp of blue smoke out of his finger. Alec lets out a huff of laughter, yeah, as if Magnus would be doing any talking.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, nothing that serious. I’m alright, Magnus.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Magnus gives him a flat stare. “Yes Alexander, banging one’s head on the dining table screams fine,” he remarked sarcastically.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s just mini-Alec,” Alec mumbles, lowering his gaze to the table and running his fingers through the condensation left behind by the cold glass of ice water.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Mini-Alec?” Magnus parrots back, the curiosity clear in his tone. He reaches out with one hand to still Alec’s wondering fingers, rubbing his thumb across Alec’s palm in soothing circles.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah. I just. Remember when you were sick?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Magnus nods. Right, that was just a fortnight ago, of course he remembers.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I uh, I got the idea to paint your fingernails. They were all chipped. And I have done it for Izzy. So I wanted to do it for you too.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh Alexander,” Magnus murmurs, that tiny fond smile appearing on his face.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Anyway, I got the nail polish bottle and all, but before I could do it, my mini-me swiped it out of my hands!” Alec can’t help his bottom lip from sticking out as he finishes his part-rant, part-explanation.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“My dear boy, I love you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I love you too,” Alec replies automatically.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“But nail polish is indeed mini-Alec’s job.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>WHAT.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Alec had expected Magnus to stand up for him, not throw him under the bus so callously. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What?” he manages, because he is in shock at Magnus taking mini-Alec’s side. Un-fucking-believable!</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Come on, Alexander, don’t pout,” a thumb reaches up to swipe gently against Alec’s bottom lip. He merely huffs in impatience and twists his face out of Magnus’ reach, “mini-Alec’s been painting my nails for years, it was one of the things we bonded over early on.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When Alec continues to sulk and give Magnus the stink eye, the warlock presses on, “he was so serious, and I had no idea what to do, nail polish was one of the things he was interested in, and it just became our thing. Surely you can let him have that one thing, hmm?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Well, when Magnus puts it that way, Alec does feel a bit ridiculous. As if sensing Alec’s resolve breaking, Magnus reveals his trump card, “if you promise to let mini-Alec paint my fingers, I will let you paint me with something else.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Alec swivels his head back, “define something else,” he drags each word out slowly, staring straight at Magnus.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The warlock gives him a coy smile, and raises two fingers in the air. “Two words, Alexander.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Alec has no idea if his ears are playing tricks on him, or if Magnus’ voice has gone deeper, taking on that husky timbre that he has come to associate with the bedroom. But if Magnus wants to play coy, Alec will gladly oblige.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What two words, Magnus?” he replies smoothly, arching a brow. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Or rather, the brow. Magnus had once confided in him while intoxicated, how he was utterly fascinated by that small slit in Alec’s thick brows, that one small sliver of skin peeking through. And when Alec had informed him that it was a scar from being nicked by an arrow, Magnus had proceeded to wax lyrical about how battle scars were so hot and cool. Alec had been torn between mortification and amusement. Since then, he had taken every opportunity to tease Magnus about his drunken rambles.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The smirk on Magnus’ face deepens, as he answers Alec’s question finally, “Chocolate syrup.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>~~~</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As Alec traces the flow of chocolate syrup with his tongue, pausing in between to nip teasingly at the sweat-soaked skin, the taste of chocolate flooding his senses, Magnus’ fingers fisted tightly in his hair sending a shiver of excitement down his spine, and those choked gasps of ‘Alexander’  that is sweet music to his ears, Alec can’t help but think he did actually win after all.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He decides there and then that Mini-Alec can have all the nail polish his heart desires. As long as Alec has Magnus </span>
  <em>
    <span>and</span>
  </em>
  <span> chocolate syrup.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thanks for reading and I hope you have a great day ahead!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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